Improvement in self-leveling berths for ships



-Sh t1 .1. c. THOMPSONFS e8 SELF-LEVELING BER'THS FOR SHIPS, &C.

No. 193,837. Patented Aug. 7,1877.

NPETERS. PHOYO-LITHOGRAPHER WASHINGTON. D. C:

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SELF-LEVELING BERTHS FOR SHIPS, &C. NO. 193,837. Patented Aug. 7,1877.

]71 w '72 for N PHERS. PHOTO-LITHOGRYAPN ER. WASNINGTOM'D. C.

JOHN O. THOMPSON, OF BROOKLYN, N. Y., AssIeNon OF 'rnnnnnrenrns "OF HIS RIGHT TO CHARLES FITZ, OF NEW ORLEANS, LA.

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Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. [93,837, dated August 7, 1877 application filed April 10, 1877.

'10 will whom it nmy concem':

Be it known that I, J OHN CALVIN THOMP- SON, of Brooklyn, in Kings county, in 'the 'S'tat'e'of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvementin the Arrangements of the Bcrths, Cots, Settees, Oars, Lounges, and Chairs of Ships and other Vessels, the purpose of which is to prevent or to cure such sickness at sea as maybe produced by the action of the vessel, which invention is fully set forth in the following specification and accom panying drawings, in which- Figure l is a transverse section of a part of a steamship or sailing-vessel. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same.

I propose, by means of mechanical appliances'or arrangements, to control the reposing or sleeping berth, cot, settee, car, lounge, or chair of each and every person using such, so as not to be affected by the rolling, pitching, or other motion of the ship or vessel containing them, and this I propose to do whether they are placed singly, or detached, or in conjunction. The means by which I propose to efi'ect these arrangements are, first, by a controlling weight, placed in such a position in ship or vessel best suited to interfere theleast with that ship or vessels floating, sailing, or steaming capabilities secondly, by an arrangement of levers, shafts, and rods or bars in connection with the aforesaid weight, which, being hung or suspended on rods, suspended by levers, hung on cross-heads, solid or tightfixed on a shaft running across or athwartship, and attached by devices to be explained hereinafter to each and every aforesaid reposing or sleeping berth, cot, car, settee, lounge, or chair, to control the same in such a way that while the weight, by reason of its inertia, from a plumb or vertical position, has in control all the motions of said berths, cots, cars, settees, lounges, and chairs, the vessel containing them may roll or pitch without the angle or inconvenience of such roll or pitch being perceptible to the occupant of such berth, cot, car, &c.each and every berth, cot, car, 850., in all and any conditions of the ship orvessels rolling, pitching, or other movement, remaining horizontal along and across.

1n the drawings, A A represent the berths,

cots, cars, settees, lounges, or chairs; B B, the frames suspendii'ig the same from either side in the center of the direction of their length, such frames being free to be controlled and to be held in a horizontal position by the inertia of the weight '0 dur'ingitherolling action ofthe ship or vessel. These frames are carried through or supported in the bulkheads or partitions by angular-edged carriers, or by friction-rollers, or other equivalent mechanical contrivances. O 0, metal attachments to the top part of both ends of berths, cots, cars, &c., passing through the bottom, which is cut to allow of the rolling motion of the ship or vessel; thence bent angularly downward directly underneath the centers of the berths, cots, cars, &c., and meeting with and attached to or connected with rods, bars, or pitch-shafts L L, which are placed near the deck, and may be inserted in the deck it necessary to cross a passage-way or alcove E E, frames hung around the weight 0, which serve to control the motion of F F; F F, bellcrank levers controlling the motion or the inertia of vertical shafts G G. G G are vertical shafts being attached by means of link-work to studs a a, fixed on the sides of frames B B, to control the motion or the inertia of B B when the ship or vessel is in a rolling condition. These shafts are also, b link work,attachcd to bell-crank levers H H,,which control the motion or the inertia of shafts, rods, or bars J J. H H, bell-crank levers; J J, shafts, rods, or bars conveying the above eifect of motion or inertia to any further series of berths, cots, cars, 85c. K K, levers controlling shafts, rods, or bars L L, which maintain the inertia of berths, cots, cars, &c., when the ship or vessel is in a pitching co dition; L L, the shafts or bars connected with the metal attachments (J O; M M, rods Or bars keeping simultaneously the parallel position of the berths, cots, cars, 8170., when there are more than one in atier, and while the vessel is in a pitching condition; N N, rods or bars, keeping simultaneously the parallel position of the frames of berths, cots, cars, 8m, when there are more than one frame in a tier, and while the vessel is in arolling c di. tion; 0, the weight 3 P P, repulsion-springs in the berths, cots, cars, 850., beneath the mattresses, cushions, or other fittings of such berths, cars, cots, &c., to nullify the recoil consequent upon any other motion of the ship or vessel not'provided for or described hereinbefore.

I do not claim the springs P P, however,

as they form the subject-matter of a separate application.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of a series: of berths capable of longitudinal and transverse vibration with a governing-weight, as and for the purposes described.

2. The combination of two or more berths capable of longitudinal and transverse vibration, with rods connecting the ends thereof, as and for the purposes described.

3. The combination of a series of berths capable of longitudinal vibration with a frame capable of transverse vibrations, as and for the purposes described.

4. The combination of two or more frames in which cots or berths are suspended, ar-

ranged one above the other, with a connecting-rod, as and for the purposes described.

5. The combination of a series of bars,'pivoted to the ends of the berths, and a reciprocating rod, whereby a longitudinal vibratory movement is imparted to a series of berths.

6. The combination of a frame, arranged about the weight and bell-cranks, connected with the vertical reciprocating rods, through the medium of which the transverse vibrations of the weight are imparted to the bars in which the berths are suspended.-

7. The combination of the reciprocating shafts J J, bell-cranks H, and rod G, whereby the motion of the shafts J may be transmitted to another series of berths, as and for the purposes described.

8. The crank K, connected by suitable rods orshafts to the weight 0, whereby the longitudinal vibrations of the weight are imparted to the rod L, as and for the purposes described.

JOHN G. THOMPSON. 

